Once I was finished, I returned to the party and a laughing happy Greg who whisked Deacon away to show him off. I took the opportunity of having my hands free to to make myself an iced tea and make my rounds, visiting with my guests. I caught Jake watching me a few times, to which I gave a friendly smile. Soon, I was sure I was imagining it, but his eyes seemed to be conveying something other than friendship. The idea both excited me and made me feel uncomfortable. He was my husband's boss. I was happily married. Whether he was making subtle advance or if I was reading more into his friendliness- it was wrong.
That night Greg was ecstatic. He whirled me around inside our kitchen with a whoop a cowboy would be impressed with. "You were great!" he grabbed my face in both of is hands and kissed me squarely on the lips. "The party was great. The food was great. And Mr. Michaels spoke very highly of my wife!" Tossing a few crumpled napkins in the laundry basket. "Let's leave this for Ana and get to bed."
The next day, Greg was off for his run, Ana was cleaning up the mess from the party and Deacon was thankfully napping, when the door bell rang. I hurried to answer it and in front of me was a large bouquet of flowers. A mix of lush, white gardenias and wild flowers in every color imaginable. From around the massive festoon popped the face of a delivery man. "Mrs. Clancy?"
I confirmed I was the recipient and accepted the flowers as I buried my nose into the fragrant blooms and made my way to the kitchen. I instantly thought they were from Greg but upon reading the card I discovered they were from Jake.
Thank you for opening up your lovely home. I insist on returning the favor with dinner in the future.
Regards, Jake.
"Who are those from?" Asked Greg, dabbing his forehead with a towel as he plucked the card from my hand and read it. "Yes!" He slapped the tiny rectangle card against his palm and looked at it again. "He even used his first name."
Pretty pleased with himself, Greg went off to take his shower while I considered the bouquet. It was a common gift, a common way to thank a host. But why did I feel the flowers meant more than that?
True to his word, the end of the week brought a dinner invitation from Mr. Michaels and since a babysitter was out of the question, thanks to Deacon's refusal of a bottle, the family of three waited for the door of the sprawling estate to open. "An dinner invite to his home?" Greg asked in a hushed whisper, his excitement coming off him in waves. I couldn't help but grin at him.
"I smell partner on the horizon." I assured him with a wink just as the door opened. A housekeeper let us in and Jake and his wife greeted us in the foyer. The usual gushing over the baby and a round of small talk before we were showed into the dinning room.
"I was hoping to meet your children." I informed my hosts as I sat down, Deacon peacefully asleep in his car seat beside me.
"Oh. Teens." Melissa said with a wave of her hand. "We only see them when it's allowance time."
We all laughed and once again I felt burning eyes on me. I swallowed hard when I looked over at Jake and read the desire in his eyes. With a shaking hand, I lifted the glass of water to my parched mouth. Jake cleared his throat and looked down. He seemed to be composing himself and when he looked back up, there was no trace of the desire I thought I saw there. So much so, that I thought perhaps I'd imagined it.
Thankfully, dinner arrived and the conversation began in earnest. Greg and Melissa began discussing politics, of all things. I squeezed his thigh in warning, we are pretty liberal- far more liberal than most people in our area and I was sure that any second Greg would get off on one of his tirades and offend the Michaels. I looked nervously at Melissa and Jake. Melissa was nodding her head in agreement. Jake...Jake was looking at me.
Deacon began fussing and, as usual, my breasts responded. I felt the tingle spread through my mammary glands and down to my nipples, tightening them in preparation for their function. Deacon had slept for over two hours so I was especially engorged and if I didn't seclude myself away soon to feed him, my let down would begin and I'd start leaking milk right then. Sure, I had on pads to prevent a mess but I still didn't want it to happen in front of my husband's boss.
Melissa and Greg were so engrossed in their conversation, I leaned over to ask Jake if there was a room I could use. He excused himself and led me to a guest room. Flipping on a light and leading me inside. The room was decorated like a modern hotel. Clean lines, dark furniture, white bedding, bright accent colors yet it still felt warm and welcoming.
A white, wide seat sofa sat in front of the window so I made my way over to it and began releasing Deacon from his car seat. Jake stood near. His hands in the pockets of his khakis as he looked around the guest room in his home as if he hadn't been in there before. He grabbed the remote and brought it to me. "In case you want to watch tv." He explained. I thanked him softly as I laid Deacon over my lap and began unclasping the cup on one side of my bra under my shirt. I'd grown pretty efficient with candidly preparing to nurse Deacon, hoping that it might ease Greg's apprehension.
"Did you like the flowers?" He asked, avoiding looking directly at me as I brought Deacon to my chest.
"Yes. Thank you. They were lovely. Some of my favorites." I assured him with a bright smile.
"I thought they might be. At least I hoped so. The gardenia's at least were a sure bet."
I gave him a perplexed look when he finally turned his gaze back to me.
"Your perfume." Hands still stuffed in his pockets, he gestured with his head. "It has gardenias in it, no?"
My mouth fell open in surprise but I shut it quickly, "Yes but...how did you know?"
"My mother is an avid gardener. I recognized the scent."
I stared at him for a moment. He paid attention to my perfume?
"Very observant of you, Mr. Michaels." I heard myself say with a tone more sultry than I intended but I was nearly out of breath with the wonder of it.
He smiled politely, "It's my job to pay attention to details, Megan."
Of course. Silly of me to think anything else of it.